Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has been revealed as this year's designated survivor of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address.
Every year, at least one Cabinet member does not attend the State of the Union address in order to maintain the constitutional line of succession.
Last year, that role went to then-Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, and in 2022 to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
Most people in the presidential line of succession will be in the same place at the same time during the speech. Designated survivors must remain elsewhere, a measure to ensure continuity of power in the event of disaster at the Capitol.
The official presidential line of succession includes 18 members: vice president, speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate, 14 chief justices, and attorney general. The designated survivor is usually chosen from among the Commissioner and the Attorney General.
The practice of choosing designated survivors is believed to date back to the Cold War era, particularly the late 1950s, but the federal government did not publicly recognize it until 1981, according to the National Constitution Center.
Back in 2016, Barack Obama's former speechwriter Jon Favreau said: ringer Who is chosen as the designated survivor will depend in part on how prominent the category is in the State of the Union address.
“Designated survivors may be selected based on the criteria, 'Will their plans and policies be a highlight of the State of the Union?'” Favreau told the website. “It reminds me of a time when education was so important in speeches that Arne Duncan, who was then education secretary, was not named as a survivor.”
This concept also inspired the title of the ABC series. designated survivoraired on ABC from 2016 to 2019, and then on Netflix for a total of three seasons.
Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, who was named as a survivor of President George W. Bush's 2007 State of the Union address, spoke about his experience on NewsNation Thursday ahead of Biden's own address. He recalled that “people from every major department” had “a thick binder of protocols and procedures” to advise him should he suddenly have to serve as president of the United States. did.
